Box Score EL PASO, Texas -- Bradley had plenty of scoring opportunities, but the Braves suffered a 4-3 loss to North Dakota Friday night at the UTEP Invitational after giving up three runs in the first and leaving 10 runners on base. Junior Julie Sherman (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) collected three of BU's eight hits in the game to extend her hit streak to seven consecutive games.
The Sioux opened the scoring when Lindy Sippola followed a Bradley error with a two-run double and Brittany Baker had a run-scoring single in the top of the first inning to give North Dakota an early 3-0 lead.
Bradley (3-8 overall) got a run back in the bottom half of the inning. Sherman was at third after a single and an error on the play. She later scored on a double steal.
North Dakota (2-3 overall) scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning. D Janzter had a one-out triple to center and pushed the Sioux advantage to 4-1 when she scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Amanda Johnson.
Junior Jackie Roth (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) singled and stole second to open the bottom of the fourth for the Braves. BU had runners at the corners after freshman Alex Chandler (Needles, Calif./Needles) singled and Roth scored when Chandler stole second. Junior Brittany Fairbairn (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East/Kankakee C.C.) drew a walk and Chandler later scored on a double by Sherman to pull Bradley within a run (4-3).
Bradley left two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth and stranded seven runners in scoring position in the game. North Dakota's Emma Gronseth struck out six in the complete game victory. She picked up her first decision of the year, scattering eight hits and three runs over seven innings.
Junior Lindsay Hufeld (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone/Illinois Central) took the loss for Bradley, dropping to 0-4 on the year. Sophomore Mackenzie Camp (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone) and senior Katie Dennis (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesquite) each pitched three and one-third innings in relief of Hufeld. Dennis matched a career-high with five strikeouts.
In addition to Sherman extending her hit streak to seven games, Fairbairn went 1-for-3 to push her hit streak to six games and senior Kate Singler (Witt, Ill./Nokomis/Heartland C.C.) turned in her team-best sixth multi-hit game of the year with a 2-for-3 effort.
Bradley continues play at the UTEP Invitational Saturday with a 10:30 a.m. contest against Texas State.
